Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a post-apocalyptic film starring Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell and directed by Matt Reeves.

The film is set ten years after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, most of humanity has been wiped out by the ALZ-113 virus, only a handful of humans remain and the apes, led by Caesar, live in relative peace.

That is until a group of human survivors run into two apes that are out hunting. What results is a very uneasy truce and both species do not trust each other and the tiniest mistake made by ape or human could spark an all-out war.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is one of those rare gems in films today. It is absolutely brilliant from beginning to end. Once the humans encounter the apes, you can feel that immediate tension that not only stays throughout the whole film, but gradually rises as well.

A round of applause must be given to Andy Serkis, the man who spent the entire movie in a motion capture suit. He plays Caesar, and he does so amazingly. He is able to capture the ape-like gestures and is able to convey all sorts of strong emotions through body language.

The film also realistically depicts apes as they would behave if they had somehow become genetically smarter. Unlike the original franchise which depicted the apes as more humanoid, both Rise and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes kept them grounded realistically, which not only results in some amazing on screen brilliance, but also a terrifying realistic experience.

In essence this is how not only a reboot, but how a sequel should be. The reboot is completely different from the source material, yet the spirit is still there. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was brilliant in starting off the reboot, completely fresh and explained how the Apes became so dominant. This of course then spills over to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which has a far more grittier and darker tone and doesn’t feel like you’re watching the same movie over again.

One could also compare this franchise to the Dark Knight Trilogy. Tim Burton’s Batman is regarded as a classic film, until Joel Schumacher fulfilled the Joker’s wish and killed the Batman. Franklin Schaffner’s Planet of the Apes is regarded as classic science fiction, until Tim Burton, ironically enough, put his dirty paws all over the film and destroyed it. The reboots, both Rise and Dawn have reinstated the franchise and have made it one of the best in the film’s series to date.

All in all, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a must watch and trust me you will not be disappointed. The only fault I could find in this movie was a very subtle spoiler that was given in the trailer, but you would have had to pay attention.

So with that in mind, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes gets a “Keep your lovely paws on me, you damn fine ape” 10 out of 10

Remember to click on the title to hear the audio version of this review